UK Visa Application Centre
reopens in Kyiv

30 January 2023

The TLScontact UK Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Kyiv, Ukraine, is re-opening on 30 January 2023 for all applications for UK visas that need to submit their biometrics and passports before travelling to the UK.

The centre will be open for a limited number of appointments per day, any may need to close at short notice for security reasons or because of unscheduled power cuts.

Customers will be able to keep their passport in their possession after submitting their biometrics.

Please note that if your application is successful, you will need to travel to Warsaw, Poland, to collect your visa to enter the UK. You will not be able to collect your visa in Kyiv.

Ukraine visa scheme applicants

If you are outside the UK and hold a valid Ukrainian international passport or hold an expired Ukrainian international passport that contains an official passport extension stamp endorsed by the Ukrainian government (including embassies or consulates), you do not need to provide your biometric information at a Visa Application Centre from overseas to apply to the Ukraine Scheme.

You will still need to complete an application online and upload a digital scan of your valid Ukrainian international passport, but you will not need to attend an in-person appointment at a visa application centre.

UK visa schemes for Ukrainian nationals

The UK has put 3 different visa schemes in place for Ukrainian nationals who wish to either come to or remain in the UK:

  • Ukraine Family Scheme– if you have family who are settled in the UK, you may be able to apply to the Ukraine Family Scheme.
  • Homes for Ukraine– if you want to be sponsored by a UK household for 6 months, you may be able to apply to the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
  • Ukraine Extension Scheme– you can apply for this scheme if one of the following is true:
    • you held permission to be in the UK on or between 18 March 2022 and 16 May 2023 – the permission does not need to cover the whole period
    • you previously held permission to be in the UK and that permission expired on or after 1 January 2022

More information on UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals can be found on the GOV.UK website here.

Smith Stone Walters continues to monitor the situation and will provide regular updates as new information is released. To keep up to date with the latest UK immigration news, please sign up to our free newsletter.

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